Renewed Passport, Lost ILR Stamp!!! HELP!!

[zeeww]

I am asking for help on behalf of my friend from all the experienced and experts here. hope someone could shed some light onto his problem stated below.

He is a Hong Kong national, holding British Citizen (Overseas) [BNO] passport, with ILR granted sometime around year 1999-2000.

recently his passport was sent to the Passport Office for renewal, and his new passport was received clean without any stamps. The UK Passport Office didnt return his old passport (that the ILR stamp was on) as they deemed it was damaged, and when he called the office, they told him that because the passport was damaged, it was destroyed!! to my friend's dismay.

and because he have not evidence/copies of his ILR stamp (stamps were used those days compared to visa stickers nowadays), when he called the Home Office, they couldnt help him. Home Office mentioned that he should have got a letter informing his ILR when ILR was approved, but to his knowledge, he only got his passport with the stamp on it when he received his ILR back in those days, no paperwork whatsoever accompanying......

Home Office told him they could not help him as he cant produce the paperwork accompanying his approval of ILR, as they insisted he should get 1 when he got his ILR. He remembered clearly that the envelope only contains his passport with the ILR stamp when he got it back then.

He was married (to an EU national) in 1995 and now divorced (that was way after he got his ILR), his children born in the UK (british citizens), are 12 and 14 years old respectively. the children have him as their paternal father on their birth certificates.

he currently only have his "Clean" new BNO passport, and wondering what could he do to get his ILR recognition back?

can he just book a session at any PEO and pay GBP500 to get his ILR based on the database in the Home Office's system???

thanks for any help or comments. any help will be very much appreciated!

[JAJ]

I would very much expect that the Home Office have a file documenting his ILR status. How did he obtain his ILR?

Regarding his children, if they were born in 1993 and 1995 (before he got ILR), are they British based on their mother's status as a permanent resident? (EU citizens were deemed permanent residents before October 2000). Or were they registered as British citizens later on? In that case, his ILR evidence will be on the children's citizenship files.

On top of that, the Passport Office should not have destroyed a passport with visa stamps in it.

He should contact the Home Office again and if they do not help a second time, he should urgently contact his Member of Parliament and ask him or her to intervene with the Home Office Minister.

Incidentally - why has he not applied for registration as a British citizen himself?

[sakura]

I would very much expect that the Home Office have a file documenting his ILR status. How did he obtain his ILR?

Regarding his children, if they were born in 1993 and 1995 (before he got ILR), are they British based on their mother's status as a permanent resident? (EU citizens were deemed permanent residents before October 2000). Or were they registered as British citizens later on? In that case, his ILR evidence will be on the children's citizenship files.

On top of that, the Passport Office should not have destroyed a passport with visa stamps in it.

He should contact the Home Office again and if they do not help a second time, he should urgently contact his Member of Parliament and ask him or her to intervene with the Home Office Minister.

Incidentally - why has he not applied for registration as a British citizen himself?

Can he sue those people for destroying his passport!!? I know I'd want to...
I think if he applies for naturalisation he'd lose his Hong Kong citizeship/passport, no? I'm guessing...

[Marco 72]

Does your friend have a bank account? If so, it is possible that his bank may have photocopies of his passport (although I don't know if they photocopy every page).

[mads]

He can also try at the company he worked for during that period. My work took photo copies of my passport and visa when I started work.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

He was married (to an EU national) in 1995 and now divorced (that was way after he got his ILR)
...
can he just book a session at any PEO and pay GBP500 to get his ILR based on the database in the Home Office's system???

If he has permanent residency (“ILRâ€

[zeeww]

I would very much expect that the Home Office have a file documenting his ILR status. How did he obtain his ILR?

Regarding his children, if they were born in 1993 and 1995 (before he got ILR), are they British based on their mother's status as a permanent resident? (EU citizens were deemed permanent residents before October 2000). Or were they registered as British citizens later on? In that case, his ILR evidence will be on the children's citizenship files.

On top of that, the Passport Office should not have destroyed a passport with visa stamps in it.................

Thanks JAJ,
he got his ILR in 1999 through post, applied himself and when he got his passport back, no letter accompanyting!!! and both his children were british by birth as their mother is a permanent resident then.

we absolutely no idea why passport office would destroy a passport with visa stamps, and when we called them, they mentioned that his passport was badly crimpled, damaged so they destroyed it rather than returning it.... no obvious reasons were given, and passport office asked us to contact Home office, and home office asked us to contact passport office.

as for application of BC, i dont know why he didnt apply for BC and still kept his BNO passport and ILR. but for now, he is trying to get his ILR back and hopefully sense can get into him to go naturalised!!!

do you think this case will be best handled by solicitors? chances of getting his ILR stamp back without any other documentation, apart from children birth certificates?
thanks!

[JAJ]

Can he sue those people for destroying his passport!!? I know I'd want to...

Probably not but he should make an urgent complaint to his Member of Parliament. His MP can raise the issue with the Home Office Minister.

Regarding his ILR, if he is married to another EU member state citizen exercising Treaty Rights, he may be regarded as a Permanent Resident from 30 April 2006 anyway. That is a fall-back option.

I think if he applies for naturalisation he'd lose his Hong Kong citizeship/passport, no? I'm guessing...

1. He would not lose his BNO status.
2. As to whether he would lose his immigration status in Hong Kong, contact the Hong Kong Immigration Department. http://www.immd.gov.hk
3. Usually, Chinese citizens lose their citizenship when they naturalise elsewhere. However, there may be a difference for Chinese citizens with Hong Kong status. Again - contact the HK Immigration Department.

But - if his home is in the United Kingdom, would it be so much of a problem to lose Chinese citizenship anyway?

Incidentally, he doesn't have to apply for naturalisation. As a BNO, he can apply for registration which is simpler/cheaper/quicker.
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applyi ... dvice/bn12

What country is his wife from and does she want to become a British citizen too?

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Can he sue those people for destroying his passport!!? I know I'd want to...

Probably not but he should make an urgent complaint to his Member of Parliament. His MP can raise the issue with the Home Office Minister.

Actually, I was noticing that the UK passport service pays out quite a bit of compensation money each year. I assume a good amount of it is for lost documents, of which this would be one.

[SYH]

Getting back to the letter, I know your friend said he didn't get one, but he probably was just focusing on the stamp and should really go through his stuff to see if he can find the letter.

[Marco 72]

Getting back to the letter, I know your friend said he didn't get one, but he probably was just focusing on the stamp and should really go through his stuff to see if he can find the letter.

Unfortunately it's possible he never got the letter. I used to think that everyone who received ILR got a letter from the Home Office (I did) but since then I have known people who didn't.

[zeeww]

............

Incidentally, he doesn't have to apply for naturalisation. As a BNO, he can apply for registration which is simpler/cheaper/quicker.
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applyi ... dvice/bn12

What country is his wife from and does she want to become a British citizen too?

thanks JAJ and others,

the registration for citizenship is something new to him, as far as he understands, BN(O) is no different to other nationalities passport.. but after reading the website you posted, it seems to me that he will qualify for the registration based on that he re-entered the UK on 1995, and got his ILR in 1999 and currently lost his ILR stamp due to passport office's actions.

so do you think it's best writing a letter to the BIA to enquire about his status for registration as stated in the website??
thanks all.

by the way, his is divorced with his wife now, and his wife holds an Italian passport with ILR before 2000. i dont know whether she had naturalised since then....

[Dawie]

Getting back to the letter, I know your friend said he didn't get one, but he probably was just focusing on the stamp and should really go through his stuff to see if he can find the letter.

Unfortunately it's possible he never got the letter. I used to think that everyone who received ILR got a letter from the Home Office (I did) but since then I have known people who didn't.

I personally never received any letter when I obtained ILR and neither has anyone else I know who obtained ILR.

The Home Office must receive enquires from thousands of people every year who have lost their passports with the proof of their visa status inside. They must have policies to deal with this.

[tekaweni]

Marco 72 and Dawie are correct in saying not everyone receives a letter with ILR. I and my family received none either, ILR was simply entered into our passports.

But they *must* have record of the ILR on their computer systems, and the application forms filed away somewhere. As JAJ says, if they cant/wont find it the poster should get their local MP to lean on them..

[jes2jes]

The simple solution to this is to make a Subject Access Request, which would hold all the information concerning the OP's immigration history. Armed with this, he can apply personally at the PEO for his ILR to be issued and placed in the new passport.

Alternatively, if the OP knows his HO Reference number, he can just send in his new passport with the appropriate form and fees using the TOC form to get the ILR stamped in the new passport.

Others can comment on this.

[zeeww]

so do you all think that he should contact solicitors to solve this problem on this behalf?? or do it himself? can he re-apply the ILR stamp without any supporting documentation when filling the form?
note that calling the Home Office or Passport Office hasnt been helpful at all, and they wont budge/help if he cant produce the ILR approval letter.

on the other hand, is he qualified for BC under the BN(O) residing in UK for more than 5 years as stated in the BIA website??

thanks for all the input, but he is in a situation where he dont know what actions to take, but he is trying to write a letter to the BIA enquiring about his eligibility for BC.

please advise, thanks again.

[zeeww]

The simple solution to this is to make a Subject Access Request, which would hold all the information concerning the OP's immigration history. Armed with this, he can apply personally at the PEO for his ILR to be issued and placed in the new passport.

Alternatively, if the OP knows his HO Reference number, he can just send in his new passport with the appropriate form and fees using the TOC form to get the ILR stamped in the new passport.

Others can comment on this.

hi jes2jes,

how to make the Subject Access Request, any link or more information on this???

if he knows his HO reference number, do he just fill in the TOC form and send the fees to HO?? what's the TOC form, or the appropriate form if i quote you above???
and also, i dont think he knows his Home Office Reference Number, but is this the number that is written on the visa stamp during those days?? something like NQ 123 456 in the brackets on top of the visa stamp??
thanks!!!!

[jes2jes]

SAB Request Info:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/naviga ... /foi_guide
IDI for SAB and How to make it:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/docume ... iew=Binary

Form and guide NTLTOC - transfer of an indefinite or limited leave stamp to a new passport or other document

Application Form:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/1 ... tocmay.pdf

Guidance:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/1 ... uidmay.pdf

If the OP does not know his/her HO reference number, most likely, the numbers that appear on the stamp in the old passport on the visa is the reference number. The HO can track this down with the necessary personal information provided on the application form anyway.

All the best.